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Foundry USA Becomes the Second-largest Bitcoin Mining Poll With a 15.42% Network

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Foundry USA has become the second-largest Bitcoin mining pool after earning a 15.42% share of the network. The New York firm incomes after AntPool, which it lost to by a hash rate of 4000 PH/s. AntPool has taken up a share of 17.76%.

American businesses are dominating the mining market since China banned cryptocurrency

American entities have come to participate more in the market because of China’s ban on crypto. Because of the ban, many crypto-related enterprises had to migrate to more friendly areas such as Russia, the U.S, and Kazakhstan.

Foundry is one of the five most prominent mining pools. It earns the most mining rewards of 0.09418116 Bitcoins which translates to $5500 per block. Kevin Zhang, the Vice President of Foundry USA, states that the firm distributes the rewards to the miners through a Full-Pay-Per-Share scheme. Their pool fees are also 0%.

American businesses have also taken China’s place in Crypto ATM distribution. Bitcoin Depot, Georgia, has become the most prominent crypto ATM operator in the world. In addition, American firms have run crypto ATM operators since China banned cryptocurrency.

China was experiencing a decline in crypto mining before the ban

The Chinese Communist Party intends to develop China’s Central Bank Digital Currency. Despite this, it has now turned to the public for its views on the ban. The move has ignited conversations on whether the Chinese government could change its stance on Bitcoin and other crypto mining activities.

Even before the ban, China’s contribution to the hash rate was on the decline. While it had taken up about 75% of the mining hash rate in September 2019, this number had dropped to 46% in April 2021. China banned the currency as it thought that crypto mining would hinder it from achieving its carbon emission goals.

The U.S is getting closer to making Bitcoin mainstream. As a result, regulators are looking to the Biden administration on guidelines for reporting on cryptocurrency. Both Democrats and Republicans have appealed to amend the reporting reforms for crypto and made a plea to define ‘broker’ by crypto standards.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill will require people to report digital assets over $10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by 2024. Currently, protocol developers, software developers, hardware developers, validating, and miners are referred to as brokers under the bill.

Orica Ltd (OTCMKTS: OCLDF) holds Auction to Build School in Ssese Islands

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Adam Barry
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Orica Ltd (OTCMKTS: OCLDF) had a non-fungible token (NFT) auction at Malta AI & Blockchain Summit. The firm hopes to use the proceeds to fund Ssese Islands education. There has been an increase in projects selling digital art to raise funds for charitable causes. Orica is an example of such a project.

Orica is a platform that supports Social Impact Organizations (SIOs) and artists to sell or create NFTs.

Orica will build a school in Ssese Islands, Uganda. Ssese Islands is a collection of islands in Lake Victoria. Orica will work with Bbanga Project, an Austria registered organization with NGO status in Uganda, so the tax authorities and Viennese charity will audit the receipts.

According to Danial Nanaei, the founder of Orica, after Malta became block chain island, about $70 billion worth of crypto moved through it. Therefore it makes no sense that an island of people living close by struggles to make ends meet. For that reason, the firm used its launch at the summit to make a difference.

Bbanga Project will collaborate with Mellowmann 

Bbanga Project and Mellowmann, a German artist, partnered to create a collection of NFTs inspired by Uganda. Mellowmann has several collectors, including Dima Buterin. His latest Ssese Island piece for Orica is founders A Fairer World. The school children were allowed to view it before Orica presented it for auction. Bbanga plans to raise at least $6815 to finish constructing the school at Bugala.

Sani Hayatbakhsh approached Nanaei for the project

The idea for the project started when the founder of Bbanga, Sani Hayatbakhsh, and Nanaei met at a Vienna Cafe in 2019. The two remained in contact. Hayatbakhsh later told Nanaei that they had finished building the school’s main hall using funds from the City of Vienna. However, construction was not complete because they did not have enough funds.

Hayatbakhsh explains that finishing school will allow them to admit 200 more children. The school children were also glad to be part of the launch and have a renowned digital artist create them.

Orica hopes to create awareness around more social issues. It plans to release the Orica Project that will facilitate more collaborations between NGOs and artists.

Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) Cancels Collaboration With Unknown Crypto Firm

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Adam Barry
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Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU), the football club, has backed out of a deal with an unknown crypto firm less than a week after announcing their partnership. Reports say that the football club had not conducted its research before announcing the agreement on November 12.

The manager of Manchester City grew suspicious after he tried to contact the company on Twitter but could find no signs of them.

The crypto firm has no online presence

Manchester City is now making further inquiries on the firm 3Key Technologies. The initial collaboration was to advertise its decentralized finance (DeFi) analysis products. However, the club soon found out that 3Key had no online presence, and all information online could not be verified. News outlets, Cointelegraph could not get to apparent Chief Marketing Officer of 3Key, Ryan Hodder.

The only information available on the crypto firm is on its website. Although it seems professional, it does not give any information on 3Key’s projects or services offered.

The only information journalists have on the crypto firm is a photograph of a man who could be Jacob Caine, its chief growth strategist. Other people who claimed to work for the company are Avaline Smith and Burt Russell. Many people have pointed out that 3Key could be an honest company that provides services whose executives prefer privacy. However, to have no online presence is suspicious.

The crypto firm claimed to have 30 international partners and 19 in other specific regions. It also stated that it would launch a project and signed up on the partnership with Manchester City to reach areas outside the U.K. The company director, Oliver Chen, said the company had begun in 2020 at Seychelles.

Floyd Mayweather Steven Segal were victims of a scam that tricked them into investing in fake token projects amid the ICO boom in 2018. However, Manchester City is a highly reputable company; thus, many are surprised by events. The company claims to have conducted background checks on 3Key before signing their deal. Manchester City is worth $4 billion, making it the 6th richest football club worldwide.

Other crypto investments Manchester City has made

This investment is not the first the club has made in the digital currency this year. In March, Manchester City collaborated with Socios.com, a fan platform, to launch a token for fans on the Chiliz blockchain.

Paddy Carroll Details Plans for Blocktopia Metaverse

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Adam Barry
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Paddy Carroll recently discussed his plans to create a Blocktopia metaverse. Blocktopia metaverse is a virtual skyscraper with 21 levels to reference the 21 million total bitcoin maximum supply. Those who own BLOCK tokens will be Blocktopians.

Services provided on Blocktopia

Users of Blocktopia will trade Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), will have real estate, and buy digital ad revenue in the virtual-reality world. Blocktopians will get additional perks as they will earn money through leasing and selling virtual property on the skyscraper to interest parties.

The founders will build Blocktopia on the Polygon network and will launch in 2022. Moreover, Elrond will be an anchor tenant on the skyscraper. It will have headquarters on the first level.

Carroll, the chief marketing officer and co-founder of Blocktopia, has stated that they will do their best to ensure Blocktopia is accessible. However, the company is still creating its road map. Carroll adds that people could use a downloadable version of the metaverse or VR glasses soon.

Blocktopia’s target market 

The founders are currently creating the auditorium, the first and sixth level of the virtual reality world, and could have a beta version by March 2022. They will also hold events in the building.

The founders are not making any more plans for other skyscrapers. Blocktopia virtual reality will target people who are interested in crypto. It helps simplify the use of crypto by having it all in one building, as it is usually time-consuming and fragmented. However, it doesn’t change that crypto is decentralized. Carroll got the idea to create the metaverse after hearing people complain about how challenging it was to navigate the crypto world.

Carroll has already launched the launchpad for Blocktopia. He believes that his metaverse is ideal as it hosts the best crypto projects. Blocktopia selected the best out of all the projects that asked for assistance to give its users the best experience.

Carroll points out that being in a metaverse is a different experience from virtual meetings that people have on zoom because they can’t do more than one thing simultaneously or interact with more than one person on zoom. With the metaverse, which is more socially interactive, you can communicate with multiple people and brands at once.

El Salvador President Announces Plans to Build Bitcoin City

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Adam Barry
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President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has announced plans to build a Bitcoin city. The city, which will be the first of its kind, will initially receive funding from bitcoin-backed bonds. The move shows the president’s intention to double down on his intent to use crypto to grow the country’s economy.

How Bukele plans to build the city

The announcement came amid a week of promoting Bitcoin. Bukele stated that the government would make the city in the eastern part of La Union. In addition, they would use geothermal power from a volcano to power it. No taxes other than the Value Added Tax (VAT) will come from the city.

About 50% of the VAT will find the bonds for building the town, while the remaining would pay for other services, including garbage collection. Bukele said that building public infrastructure would cost about 300,000 Bitcoins.

Bukele says that the city will have an airport, commerce, and residential areas. It will even have a central plaza that would resemble the Bitcoin symbol from the air.

El Salvador’s president has shown great interest in cryptocurrency. In September, the country became the first in the world to use Bitcoin as one of its legal tenders. Bukele has compared Bitcoin city to cities made by significant historical figures like Alexander the Great.

While many Salvadorans love the president, they do not share his enthusiasm for Bitcoin. Instead, introducing Bitcoin has led to many protests in the country.

Samson Mow explains plans for the city

According to the chief strategy officer of blockchain technology provider Blockstream, Samson Mow, the volcano bond, which would be the initiative 10-year issue, would receive backing from Bitcoin, have a coupon of 6.5%, and have a value of $1 billion. They would use half that money to buy bitcoin on the market. After five years, the company would sell some of the Bitcoin it used to fund the bond. That would enable it to give investors more coupons. Mow expects that the value of the bitcoin will keep increasing, and El Salvador with be the world’s financial center.

El Salvador is already coming up with a securities law to enable the process to flow smoothly.

Entrepreneur First Launches Entrepreneur First Web3 on Tezos

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Adam Barry
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Entrepreneur First has announced the launch of its Entrepreneur First Web3, a company-building blockchain platform that attracts new founders to web3, on Tezos. Entrepreneur First gives people from around the world the chance to build a technology company from the ground. The investor has managed to start 500 companies so far. It has over 3000 alumni globally and a portfolio of $5 billion.

Entrepreneur First Web3 will use methods the company has previously applied. As a result, people will be able to find a co-founder with whom to build ideas. The founders can also make an investment pitch in 3-6 months. Tezos community experts will train and guide these founders.

Entrepreneur First companies include Transcelestial, OpenCosmos, accuRx, Cleo, Aztec Protocol, Propine Capital, Merkle Science, and Magic Pony Technology.

Applications will be open until the end of May 2022. The first cohorts for 2022-2023 will choose 40-50 founders for a six-month one-on-one program in London. Successful founders will get a co-founder, and they will receive funding. They will also get to be part of workshops and get support.

The initiative will help entrepreneurs find a co-founder

According to Matt Clifford, the CEO and co-founder of Entrepreneur First, the initiative is to help founders get a co-founder to build ideas and receive quick customer traction. The platform is useful to founders who want to create decentralized futures with a community of collaborators and co-founders.

After the announcement, XTZ, the Tezos token increased by 1%. Currently, its market capitalization is about $5 billion. Tezos continues to add new integration and partnerships to its platform.

Entrepreneur First offers a support and investment program for members. The program, which lasts six months, supports them in the initial 100 days of life, enabling them to start a business from the ground.

Sectors Entrepreneur First Supports

The firm is in London, U.K. It finds funding for start-up companies in fields such as virtual reality, SaaS, mobile, manufacturing, life sciences, industrials, health tech, gaming, digital health, cybersecurity, big data, B2B payments, machine learning, artificial intelligence, ag-tech, advanced manufacturing, ad-tech, TMT, Internet of things, clean-tech, commercial services, and information technology.

The company selects entrepreneurs according to technical talent. For this reason, interested parties can apply before they have an idea.

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: MARA) Receives Subpoena From Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

By
Adam Barry
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Marathon Digital is the latest public Bitcoin mining company to announce that it plans to raise $500 million in debt to purchase Bitcoin. Other companies have done this to find funds for equipment expansion and expenditure.

Marathon Digital announced a debt offering of $500 million

Marathon Digital, the biggest Bitcoin mining company in North America, announced a private debt offering of $500 million aggregate principal number of senior convertible notes. They will also present initial investors with an option of purchasing $75 million more principal amount of notes 13 days after it issues the notes.

Marathon Digital will use the capital it raises to create new Bitcoin mining devices and purchase more Bitcoin. Following the announcement, shares surged by 7%. However, the idea is still a proposal. The company has not confirmed whether or not it will make a move.

The proposal comes about one month after Marathon received $100 million with Silvergate Bank through Bitcoin and USD.

A few mining companies have chosen to hold nearly all the Bitcoin the mined since the year began rather than liquidating to gain capital expenditure. These firms include Marathon Digital, Argo, Hut8, Bitfarms, and Riot.

At the end of October, Marathon held 7,453 BTC worth about $490 million. The figure included $317 million, which was equivalent to 4812 BTC bought from the market. The rest of the money came through the firm’s mining operations. Marathon stock has also reached its highest value in 6 years.

Marathon Digital Receives subpoena for Hardin data center

Despite the good news for the company, it has disclosed that some of its executives have received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its mining operation in Hardin, Montana.

The SEC has asked the firm to provide communications and documents for the mining facility. Marathon Digital has said it will operate with the SEC to investigate federal securities law violations in the Hardin Montana data center. The data center, which was developed in 2020, has also experienced outages that have affected the firm’s revenue. Despite this, the company believes that its revenues will continue to increase.

The firm has also announced that it will partner with Compute North. The collaboration will help Marathon deploy about 73,000 BTC miners at a new center in Texas.

Member of the London Assembly Proposes Ban on Advertising Crypto in Public Transportation

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Adam Barry
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A member of the London assembly and previous co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Sian Berry, is trying to ban crypto advertisements on public London transportation, including bus and rail services.

According to Berry, she would make this recommendation to Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. The move comes after Floki Inu announced its plans to advertise in London transport, including posters on underground trains and buses.

Barry, who previously got the mayor to ban gambling ads, believes public transport should not promote crypto. She refers to it as a risky, unethical, and unregulated scheme. She proposed the ban in July.

Crypto in London commonly advertises in public transport

The U.K hosts various projects and exchanges; hence is not new to advertising. Many tokens such as Richard Heart’s HEX has posted several ads in London. Some of these ads have been made during sporting events, on public transportation, and in newspapers. Binance also posted many advertisements before in preparation for its U.K launch.

Many of these campaigns have gone successfully with people joining the digital currency industry. However, Barry is more concerned about schemes where advertisements draw a large audience, but only a few investors profit after selling their holdings when prices go up.

Advertising Standards Authority has blocked several crypto advertisements

The U.K Advertising Standards Authority previously banned a campaign by Luno. It claimed that Luno’s ‘it’s time to buy’ claim could give people the impression that Bitcoin investments were accessible and straightforward. Furthermore, the ads did not show that the investment could be volatile, complex and that investors could incur losses. It had also blocked an advertisement by Coinfloor that targeted pensioners. The director of complaints and investigations at ASA, Miles Lockwood, has started prioritizing blocking misleading ads by crypto enterprises.

Berry had added that she is not specifically targeting crypto. Instead, she also wants to ban gambling ads and ads that promote risky financial products. Moreover, Berry adds that the ban is not just because of Floki Inu but also three other current crypto campaigns. As a result of her actions, she had received many criticisms from Floki Inu’s social media followers.

The ads seem to be working in Floki Inu’s favor as it has surged by over 500%  between October 26 and November 4.

Xiao Yi Dismissed From Communist Party of China for Supporting Crypto Investments

By
Adam Barry
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0

The Communist Party of China has dismissed Xiao Yi, its Vice-chairman of the Jiangxi provincial committee of the people’s political consultative conference, for serious violations of discipline and law. He initiated and supported crypto mining activities. The Chinese government outlawed cryptocurrency earlier in the year, causing several related enterprises to close or move their operations offshore. He also accepted bribes and traded favors for sex and money. Additionally, Yi attended banquets that compromised his duties and used his position to promote those close to him and gave contracts in exchange for property.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the anti-corruption watchdog in China, stated that Yi’s actions violated the country’s industrial policy.

Yi’s actions violated new development plan

According to a statement given by the government, Xiao went against the plan for new development. He illegally used his influence to support and introduce enterprises to virtual currency mining.

Xiao is now the most prominent Chinese official facing punishment for engaging in crypto activities. He is also the eighth to undergo investigation under the nation’s anti-corruption campaign.

Why China has banned cryptocurrency

One reason the Chinese government is opposed to cryptocurrency is that it could not reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Critics have long claimed that crypto mining is harmful to the environment. The government also perceives it as a danger to the country’s financial system.

Until now, the Communist Party has not expelled any member for crypto activities. Yi could be arrested for his crimes. The move comes after the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a meeting to demand local authorities to create systems to enforce policies that deal with illegal crypto mining activities.

The NDRC previously came up with a notice with ten separate authorities to eliminate crypto mining traces. It had also proposed classifying the industry as outdated to stop people from investing.

China was a popular location for Bitcoin miners before the crackdown. After the ban, the Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance reported that the country’s mining share lowered from 75.5% in September 2019 to 46% in April 2021. The latest data shows it at 0%. Now Bitcoin miners have moved to the U.S and Kazakhstan.

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: MARA) Wants to Raise $500million in Debt to Buy Bitcoin

By
Adam Barry
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0

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: MARA), a crypto mining company in the U.S, is trying to leverage the debt market to obtain mining hardware and bitcoin. The company plans to issue senior convertible notes maturing on December 1, 2026, to raise $500 million. The first purchases will be able to buy $75 million additional principle number of notes. Investors will also have the ability to convert these notes to common stock in particular periods and circumstances.

Marathon will use the proceeds for different things like acquiring bitcoins and bitcoin mining machines. Following the announcement, shares went up by 7%.

Other mining companies in North America are using the same method to get funding

Marathon is not the first North American crypto mining company to look for funds for equipment expansion and expenditure in this way. Nearly a month ago, Marathon $100 million credit with Silvergate Bank using Bitcoin and USD.

Several North American companies, including Marathon, Argo, Hut8, Bitfarms, and Riot, will hodl nearly all their mined bitcoin rather than liquidating their assets for capital expenditure. Marathon Digital is the largest Bitcoin holder in North America. It held approximately 7,453 worth $490 million when October ended. This amount included 4,812 BTC, which amounts to $317 million purchased from the market. It earned the rest of the money through mining operations.

Revenues for Bitcoin mining have gone to since October for Marathon. However, Fred Thiel, the CEO, pointed out that the firm had experienced challenges such as a rise in the total network hash rate and outages at the Hardin plant. Despite this, the increase in shipments and Bitcoin production will be more consistent as the company progresses.

Marathon Digital receives a subpoena

Marathon also disclosed that it received a regulatory subpoena because of a data center. After the quarter ended September 30, some of the firm’s top executives got a subpoena requiring them to produce communications and documents regarding the data center in Hardin, Montana.

The company announced in October 2020 that it would partner with various parties to create the data center for 100-megawatts. Marathon has said that it will cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) investigation. It has explained that the SEC is investigating to find out if there were any violations in securities regulations.

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